Game 12: Portland vs New Orleans 5:00pm Root,Root+

[bnets]

Really disappointing that the blazers are going to most likely load manage Dame from now on. It’s ridiculous having super max players play 3/4’s or 2/3rds of the season.

I just placed a large bet on the game before they announced this too. Not happy.

Nothing to worry about, still a win

[The Sebastian Express]

Oh they should not have been in that based on the on paper talent gap.. what a win. There's just no quit in them at all.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Oh they should not have been in that based on the on paper talent gap.. what a win. There's just no quit in them at all.

Just keep fighting, just keep winning

[Brandon-Clyde]

Victory GLB pic

Spoiler:

[DeBlazerRiddem]

The number of guys who have bought into "doing the little things to win" is impressive. Hart is maybe the epitome of that but Winslow, Watford, Eubanks, Little, Johnson and Walker all go at it hard, and cant wait to see GP3 added to that mix. Love seeing us draw charges and send help defense, really good job making Zion work hard tonight. Both Winslow and Watford are kind of playing a Draymond Green type role and it frees up our guards to do more scoring as well as creating some really good inside looks. Eubanks just does not get enough credit for what he has done so far this season.

[The Sebastian Express]

I think Chauncey and that young'n over in Utah have to be the frontrunners for coach of the year so far.

[DusterBuster]

Chauncey has been masterful this season in balancing load management. Almost every game they sit Dame, they’ve won, which won’t burn him out like he would get with Stotts.

And Grant has been nothing short of amazing. I thought he was foolsgold from his time in Detroit, mostly didn’t want Portland to overpay for him. To see what they traded for him and that I was totally wrong on my judgement of him has been so cool. Grant brings what we all thought RoCo would and at a fraction of the price Olshey paid.

Olshey’s opinion of Portland as a place players don’t want to play resulted in him routinely overpaying for mediocre players.

[Case2012]

On paper the pelicans are stacked but against these blazers that just hustle and grind, effort beats talent.

I thought it was interesting how they slowed it down and turned it into a half court game vs their usual get up and down high tempo offense. Gotta credit the coaches for that adjustment. It's so refreshing having so many high motor players and we still don't have gp2.

[soobias]

[monopoman]

Blazers showing off their depth in this game, no Lillard, no Nurkic no problem. The Blazers easily handle another playoff team on the road.

The Blazers improve their road record to 6-1 which is the best in the NBA by far, the only team that has a similar record is the 3-1 on the road Bucks.

[Norm2953]

Portland by necessity is giving teams different looks and I liked the blue collar group that played
in the 4th quarter for the return of Watford gives the team another 240 lb body that is badly needed
up front.

Team has a lot of depth and likely could afford to rest Ant and play Dame with the blue collar group
in the next game. Team does have an interesting problem when Gp2 is ready to play. I can see him
taking minutes from Sharpe and a few from Hart if he is playing well.

[DaVoiceMaster]

Gotta admit, I chalked this up to a loss and that was before I knew Sharpe wasn't playing. That doesnt mean I didn't cheer or complain as much as any other game I watched, but like was already said... on paper, this tram did not stack up.

I know Ingram didnt have braids tonight, but he looked even taller than 6'9. Was surprised the Blazers didnt go at Zion after he picked up his 5th foul, although it appears the ref's weren't going to call him for a 6th foul.

So what's up with Sharpe and when will he return?

Little is making me like him a bit more lately. Hope he keeps it up. Glad to see Walker get some playing time and producing.

Amazing the Blazers outrebounded the Pelicans.

Just a great win!!

[Moonbeam]

I know it's early, but here's a bit of context on the 9-3 start. I've gone through every season since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1983-84. In total, 91 teams started the season 9-3 from the 1983-84 season to the 2021-22 season.

Here is a graph of their win totals, pro-rated in some cases to 82 games in seasons with fewer than 82 games:



The average is 52.55 wins, with the middle 50% being between 48.71 and 57.70 wins. Only 5 of the 91 teams ended the season with a losing record.

Of the 91 teams:

16 finished the season as the #1 seed in their conference
23 finished as the #2 seed
14 finished as the #3 seed
12 finished as the #4 seed
6 finished as the #5 seed
5 finished as the #6 seed
4 finished as the #7 seed
3 finished as the #8 seed
8 missed the playoffs

The majority finished with a top-3 seed.

I know there may be some room for skepticism as Portland has exceeded pretty much all expectations to this point, but I thought it might be interesting to examine the historical prospects of teams that start out 9-3.

[LillardTime]

Really disappointing that the blazers are going to most likely load manage Dame from now on. It’s ridiculous having super max players play 3/4’s or 2/3rds of the season.

I just placed a large bet on the game before they announced this too. Not happy.

I am going to assume this comment and the next were highly influenced by the fact you chose to gamble on the game but it would be ridiculous for the Blazers to sign Dame to a super max and then wear him into the ground to the point he is completely cooked by 34. Dame has absolutely been an iron man for the Blazers and all that has achieved is him being physically cooked most years so that by the time the playoffs come around he’s only really managed to be at the peak of his powers in the first round. If we want him to age gracefully like a Chris Paul then it’s well and truly time for load management to kick in.

If the Blazers have any brains (and thankfully it appears they do) then Dame will be given opportunities to rest when he isn’t 100% or when it makes sense i.e B2Bs. If Dame plays 65-70 regular season games, not only will this help him to hopefully be at his best deep into the playoffs, it will give the rest of the squad the chance to step up as we are seeing happen right now. The spurs did this for years with Duncan, Parker and Ginobili and extended all of their careers.The wins we bank while Dame rests are gold IMO and the way we are winning is proof this is the best squad Dame has had since LMA Rolo Wes and Nic.

[BlazersBroncos]

Really disappointing that the blazers are going to most likely load manage Dame from now on. It’s ridiculous having super max players play 3/4’s or 2/3rds of the season.

I just placed a large bet on the game before they announced this too. Not happy.

I am going to assume this comment and the next were highly influenced by the fact you chose to gamble on the game but it would be ridiculous for the Blazers to sign Dame to a super max and then wear him into the ground to the point he is completely cooked by 34. Dame has absolutely been an iron man for the Blazers and all that has achieved is him being physically cooked most years so that by the time the playoffs come around he’s only really managed to be at the peak of his powers in the first round. If we want him to age gracefully like a Chris Paul then it’s well and truly time for load management to kick in.

If the Blazers have any brains (and thankfully it appears they do) then Dame will be given opportunities to rest when he isn’t 100% or when it makes sense i.e B2Bs. If Dame plays 65-70 regular season games, not only will this help him to hopefully be at his best deep into the playoffs, it will give the rest of the squad the chance to step up as we are seeing happen right now. The spurs did this for years with Duncan, Parker and Ginobili and extended all of their careers.The wins we bank while Dame rests are gold IMO and the way we are winning is proof this is the best squad Dame has had since LMA Rolo Wes and Nic.

Ya, Dame is 32 and has an absurd amount of miles on him - even if he is basically an iron man. Age gets everyone and keeping him fresh is important. We finally have the depth to do so. When guys like Walker, Keon and Watford are your 9, 10, 11 man, your in mighty fine shape to rest some guys.

I cant remember the last time we fielded a roster that had depth up to the 11th man. Any guy up to that slot I have confidence in coming into the game and not being a dumpster fire. Poor Greg Brown is the only guy that I dont trust on the floor to be at least neutral. We have a hell of a lot of young blue collar guys, ceilings for many may not be super high but I would be floored if guys like Keon, Walker, Eubanks, Watford dont all end up having long careers.

[DaVoiceMaster]

11 is a little short:

1. Lillard
2. Simons
3. Hart
4. Grant
5. Nurkic
6. Winslow
7. Sharpe
8. Little
9. Eubanks
10. Watford
11. Johnson
12. Walker

That doesnt even include Payton II yet. That's 12 players we can feel confident about and from the little bit I saw, I'm hoping to add Sarr to the list when he becomes healthy. Now, a lot of those players are young, which is great for the future, but we'll see if it holds up as the season wears on. It's certainly a good time to be a Blazers fan!

[Case2012]

Dame just missed 4 games, played one and then sat another. It’s not like he’s been playing an absurd amount of games or anything. The season just started 3 weeks ago and he barely played the preseason after being out since January.

He just turned 32, he’s not an old man or anything.

Obviously the Blazers want to protect their investment and I understand that if he needs to sit, then obviously he should but this precautionary, no back to back stuff at the start of the year is ridiculous.

Again, I’m not saying he should play injured, I’m just saying if he can play, he should. He has a real shot at the MVP if he plays 70 games and he’s talked a lot about wanting that for his career.

[monopoman]

Dame just missed 4 games, played one and then sat another. It’s not like he’s been playing an absurd amount of games or anything. The season just started 3 weeks ago and he barely played the preseason after being out since January.

He just turned 32, he’s not an old man or anything.

Obviously the Blazers want to protect their investment and I understand that if he needs to sit, then obviously he should but this precautionary, no back to back stuff at the start of the year is ridiculous.

Again, I’m not saying he should play injured, I’m just saying if he can play, he should. He has a real shot at the MVP if he plays 70 games and he’s talked a lot about wanting that for his career.

I assume we are seeing the coaches being cautious with him, and this is a very good thing if this team can be very competitive without him. I would love to see a rested Dame in the playoffs, we have never seen this because typical Blazer teams require him to bust his ass as the season ends.

One thing that the top seeds more typically have is a more rested team once the playoffs begin, since many of them start taking the night off once they secure their top 3 seed. Currently the Blazers are on pace to win 61.5 games assuming they keep up the same level of winning we have seen 12 games in. Only one Blazer team has cracked 60 wins, the 90-91 Blazers that won 63 games.

[Case2012]

Dame just missed 4 games, played one and then sat another. It’s not like he’s been playing an absurd amount of games or anything. The season just started 3 weeks ago and he barely played the preseason after being out since January.

He just turned 32, he’s not an old man or anything.

Obviously the Blazers want to protect their investment and I understand that if he needs to sit, then obviously he should but this precautionary, no back to back stuff at the start of the year is ridiculous.

Again, I’m not saying he should play injured, I’m just saying if he can play, he should. He has a real shot at the MVP if he plays 70 games and he’s talked a lot about wanting that for his career.

I assume we are seeing the coaches being cautious with him, and this is a very good thing if this team can be very competitive without him. I would love to see a rested Dame in the playoffs, we have never seen this because typical Blazer teams require him to bust his ass as the season ends.

One thing that the top seeds more typically have is a more rested team once the playoffs begin, since many of them start taking the night off once they secure their top 3 seed. Currently the Blazers are on pace to win 61.5 games assuming they keep up the same level of winning we have seen 12 games in. Only one Blazer team has cracked 60 wins, the 90-91 Blazers that won 63 games.

I think a better solution would be to play less minutes than coaches deciding to have him miss whole games. Play him 30-32 minutes and have him be more of a facilitator and spot up shooter now that we have more guys that can create their own shot or create for others. That should reduce the wear and tear on his body not going to the rim every time down the floor or carrying the offense by himself. If he played more of a SG role that allowed him to focus more on his outside shot that would improve his efficiency and open the floor for cutters like hart and GP2.

[GEE]

Damn Case... That is two of the best posts ever from you. I think you are seeing the Game within the Game. I'm tempted to start a thread about it, because the inner-workings and brilliance of Chauncey and Cronin are there to see... if one looks hard enough and doesn't have a blind man-love for Dame.

This is not load management we are seeing folks. It's development and building of a roster. It's been going on since Stotts and Olshey were sent packing, and it continues today. Remember that we routinely rested guys last year while claiming a minor injury, but it's bigger than that...

What Chauncey did was put Simons in a pressure cooker: No Dame, No Keon & No GP2... It was all on him! Sure he got help from Winslow & Watford in that Draymond role, but that will be a regular helping hand going forward and nothing out of the ordinary. The "injuries" to Dame, Nurkic, Keon & Sharpe provides a class session for the development of Simons mostly, but also Little who had yet to regain full confidence. He looked much better in this game. Walker's minutes also became important along with Eubanks. Chauncey put alot of pressure on the guys that did suit up, and they very-much did not disappoint. Great Win!

Finally... what was also painfully obvious to me, as I applied my TIN-FOIL cap... This game showed C.B. & Cronin what this team looks like without Nukic or Dame. Now if one could imagine the product of what we saw last night (in it's infancy), plus Sharpe, plus the return from a potential blockbuster trade should they want to trade Dame and/or Nukic at some point, for whatever reason:

Simons / Keon
Hart / GP2
Sharpe / Little
Grant / Winslow
Eubanks / Watford

I would gladly consider adding a future pick or two along with Dame and/or Nukic, considering what the roster could look like post-trade. Would it give us a better chance at a title? I say it absolutely does, but I'm still holding out TRUE HOPE, that Dame and Nurkic can make the necessary changes/improvements, but I also strongly believe that Cronin and Chauncey have contingency plans in place.